Venus Williams discusses possibility of doubles reunion with Coco Gauff

Oli Dickson Jefford 26 Feb 2026 12:30 PM

Coco Gauff and Venus Williams talk while playing doubles.

Venus Williams has revealed her belief that she and Coco Gauff could “play well” should they one day choose to reunite on the doubles court.

Tennis icon and seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams played doubles with Gauff at the French Open back in 2021, when the latter was still a teenager.

The all-American pair were beaten in the opening round by 13th seeds Zheng Saisai and Ellen Perez, though were competitive in a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 defeat.

Williams is one of the most successful doubles players of the modern era, winning 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals alongside her sister, Serena Williams, reaching world No 1 back in 2010 — and also winning two mixed doubles majors in 1998.

And, since playing with Williams at Roland Garros, Gauff has also found huge success, reaching world No 1 in doubles in 2022 and winning the 2024 French Open alongside Katerina Siniakova.

After a 16-month absence, tennis legend Williams returned to action at the Washington Open last July and has regularly played doubles since then.

Most notably, the 45-year-old reached the quarter-final of the US Open alongside Leylah Fernandez last September, with the two also set to compete together at Indian Wells next week.

Williams has also teamed up with Elina Svitolina and Ekaterina Alexandrova in 2026, and is playing with Peyton Stearns at the ATX Open in Austin this week.

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When asked this week whether there were any other younger players she would consider playing doubles with, Williams suggested it would be interesting to see how she and Gauff fared.

She said: “I mean, I had the chance to play with Coco years ago now, but I think if we played again, I’m sure we both have more experience, she has more experience, so we’d probably play well.

“I don’t know, I hadn’t thought about who I would play with. It’s just when I get to a tournament, it’s like: ‘Okay, who could I play with?’

“But I don’t always play doubles, but I’ve played a lot more recently. I need the matches, and every match helps. Even if it’s not a win, the match helps me a lot.”

Williams was also in singles action at the WTA 250 event in Austin this week, though was beaten 6-4, 6-1 in her opening match by Ajla Tomljanovic on Tuesday.

She will next be in action in Indian Wells, having received a wildcard into the singles event, alongside a wildcard into the doubles event alongside Fernandez.

It will be her first appearance in Indian Wells since 2024, having declined a wildcard into the tournament twelve months ago.

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